Puppet Strings
by KimiruMai
Summary: He swore on his father's grave that no Ice-jin would underestimate another Saiyajin again...Vegeta remembers the brother of his tormentor during the battle with Meta Cooler. Oneshot.


**Dudes, I'm on a one shot rampage.**

**I find it ridiculous that Vegeta and Cooler appear to never have met. Being Frieza's older brother, I'm sure he was forced to come visit sometimes with Daddy Dearest. Being the asshole he is, Frieza probably kept Vegeta around like a pet to remind Cooler that younger brothers are the worst villains imaginable. Hence this random story. **

**Disclaimer: So many things I could put here.**

**REVIEWS PLEASE!**

**~KimiruMai**

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**Puppet Strings**

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Of all the tortures that he'd been forced to endure, he could swear on his father's grave that he'd never been hooked to this many wires before.

Congratulations, Cooler. You've got one up on your brother.

He groaned, so exhausted, so tired. The tiny wires sucked away his energy in fast, continuous streams, taking with it his ability to fight back. Dammit, why did this kind of crap always happen to him?

Cooler's laugh echoed around him, nauseating him to the very core of his being. He remembered this beast; Frieza had hated his brother with a passion, and he frowned upon the realization that Frieza would probably be happy with either outcome of the battle. He remembered how Frieza would hate those annual family dinners because Cooler would be present. He remembered sometimes being dragged along, shown off as a prize. He remembered how Frieza used to brag about destroying his home to his brother, gloating that he still had the Saiyajin Prince left as proof. He remembered how it was those times that Cooler chose to degrade Frieza's choice on soldiers, mocking him for choosing 'barbarians' like the Saiyajins in the first place. Even though he hadn't seen the elder of the brothers more than perhaps ten times in his life, he had easily decided long ago that he hated Cooler almost as much as he hated Frieza.

He was not supposed to go down like this. He would not die hanging from strings like a puppet. He had been forced to let another pull his strings his entire life, and he'd be damned if he died again by the hands of his former master's brother in such a literal sense of the phrase.

His throat burned, and he realized that he'd been screaming. Sharp stabs of pain racked his body, and he felt his once massive well of energy depleting way. His muscles ached as the Ki that was normally woven within them was harshly pulled away. He soon became too exhausted to even scream, and as his cries fell to pained whimpers, and whimpers fell to silence, the stillness that greeted him told him that Kakarot had fallen silent as well.

The strings continued their feast. Cooler laughed again, relishing in the beauty that was Saiyan strength. The pulses of the wires began to slow. Having decided that he had drank enough of their power, Cooler stopped the process as grinned at them as they hung in the air, their bodies limp.

"Ah, so what they say is true," the Ice-jin snickered. "All good things must come to an end. Who would have thought that Saiyajins had this much power? Any _more_ power and it would have exceeded even my capacities!"

Then, there was a spark.

A golden spark from the one Vegeta referred to as Kakarot. It was there for only a second, but it was enough to catch the monster's eye. Cooler frowned. Oh, these Saiyajins. They thought could just go on forever, couldn't they? Well, no matter. A few more inklings of power wouldn't cause any harm.

Another spark. This time it came from the Prince. The Saiyajins' muscles twitched ever so slightly. The former tyrant took no notice. Sparks began to fly. To Cooler's amazement, the silver wires began drinking the energy again. The pulses got stronger, much stronger, and Cooler's frown deepened.

Too much.

_Too much, shut it off. No more. Full. Full tank. Shut it __off__._

"How am I still drawing power?" the Ice-jin demanded. Pieces of the Big Gete star had already started exploding.

Vegeta grinned inwardly. Fool. Did he really think that the Prince of all Saiyajins would yield this easily? Did he think _any_ Saiyajin would yield this easily?

Cooler nearly shrieked at the sudden burst of power from the two, the silver strings retracting.

_This is the very last time,_ Vegeta thought angrily. _The very last time any of these Ice-jin demons will underestimate the power of the Saiyajin Prince. _

He grabbed the wires.


End file.
